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Scared White Guy Shoots Black Teens: No Charge; Scared Black Guy Shoots White Teen: Manslaughter
Friday night, ABC's 20/20 ran a piece on John White, the African-American Long-Islander convicted of killing Daniel Cicciaro Jr, a white 17-year-old.
If you're not familiar with the case, here's a quick and dirty summary. Cicciaro, known to his friends and family as Dan-o, showed up in front of White's house one night, spoiling for a fight with White's son, evidently over a girl.
Cicciaro, drunk and angry, was accompanied by 4 friends.
The Whites maintain that the teenagers blocked the driveway of their suburban home while making threats and using the N-word, and that the group of teens resembled a lynch mob, prompting father and son to grab weapons and attempt to drive them off.
During the confrontation, White's unregistered, heirloom pistol -- passed down to him from his grandfather -- was fired, and Cicciaro fatally shot. White says it was an accident.
The jury didn't agree, the 54 year-old was convicted of manslaughter. Later, a seemingly sympathetic judge sentenced the construction worker to 2 to 4 years in prison. His lawyers are appealing.
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